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Eight days from the MLB Trade Deadline, it looks like the Brewers may be expanding their search for improvements in the starting rotation.
To this point, the names being associated with the Brewers had one thing in common -- years of team control past this season. Not wanting to go all-in on one year, they've had their eye on pitchers who could help Brewers teams in 2018 and/or 2019 that figure to also be competitive in the postseason race.
However, that might be changing, with the team reportedly expanding the scope of their pitching search to include those who may only be around for a couple of months. According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, one of those names is notorious Brewer Killer Jaime Garcia.
The #Brewers are considering both long-term and rental starters at trade deadline. #Braves Jaime Garcia among the names on their radar.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 23, 2017
Garcia was very nearly dealt to the Minnesota Twins this week before the Braves backed out of the deal over concerns with the medical reports of one of the prospects the Twins would've sent in the deal. It was a bit ironic, given Garcia's extensive injury history, especially when it comes to his shoulder and elbow.
The 30-year-old Garcia is making $12 million this season with Atlanta, his last before becoming a free agent. In 18 starts this year, he's put up a 4.30 ERA/4.14 FIP/4.83 DRA with an exactly average 100 ERA+. He's only tallied 85 strikeouts in 113 innings, but he does own a 56% groundball percentage, which could be useful if he does make a move to Miller Park.
It's debatable if Garcia would be an upgrade over anyone currently in the Brewers rotation, considering he's basically pitched like a left-handed Matt Garza. Brandon Woodruff could be nearing a return and Chase Anderson should be back sometime in August. He might represent a mild improvement over Zach Davies or Junior Guerra, but those two could just as easily be replaced by the guys coming back from the DL.
With that in mind, this is a rumor that might be more about the surrounding context -- the team starting to look at guys who would be considered rentals -- than it is about the actual name. If that's the case, guys like Trevor Cahill or Jeremy Hellickson (or Yu Darvish, if you want to dream big) might also be in play.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference and Baseball Prospectus